Australian Open: 'Remarkable' Aryna Sabalenka lauded by Justine Henin and Laura Robson after defending title
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Published 27/01/2024 at 12:31 GMT
Aryna Sabalenka was hugely impressive as she defended her title at Melbourne Park in incredibly dominant fashion to overcome Qinwen Zheng in an imperious display on Rod Laver Arena. Zheng gave everything in what was her maiden Grand Slam final, but she was never quite able to threaten as Sabalenka triumphed again. Eurosport's Justine Henin and Laura Robson gave their expert reactions.
'A dominant display' - Experts react to Sabalenka defending Australian Open title
Eurosport experts Justine Henin and Laura Robson have given their reactions to the stunning triumph from Aryna Sabalenka in clinching her second Australian Open title in successive years.
Sabalenka was utterly dominant from the outset as she recorded a convincing straight-sets victory, 6-3 6-2, over Qinwen Zheng, who was unable to end her remarkable run at Melbourne Park in glory.
For the 25-year-old, who now has four Grand Slam titles across singles and doubles, it was a hugely impressive third triumph at Melbourne Park after her doubles crown alongside Elise Mertens in 2021 and her maiden Grand Slam singles title last year.
Henin, reflecting on the triumph for Sabalenka, said it was a just reward for what has been "a remarkable piece of work over the last two years" with the results bearing out her efforts and sacrifice.
"It's logical," Henin said. "We've seen that a few times before, that little moment of tension at the end. But overall, like everything we've seen since the start of the tournament, Sabalenka was ready, it's a place she loves. She put her hands on this final from the very first points.
"That was the risk, we knew it could happen. She really prevented Zheng from expressing herself. There will be regrets for Zheng, who I think is capable of more. But it's tough in a first Grand Slam final.
"At that [match] point, I think it's too late. There were some interesting things in the first set, despite everything. She was broken right from the start and that hurt her a lot.
"She had chances to break, but it was a bit of a misunderstanding: there wasn't anything in her game that made us think she was really going to be able to do that again.
"She was far too non-existent on the return, but she managed to win her service games with varying degrees of authority. But with the break at the start of the second set, she's finally going to let go.
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Australian Open final highlights: Sabalenka is champion again after triumph over Zheng
"From that point on, Sabalenka had plenty of space and peace of mind, and she impressed with her power. She was so solid! She was very impressive with perhaps too little adversity today."
She added: "Sabalenka has been Swiatek's main rival for a while now, ever since she won the Australian Open last year. We felt a hierarchy had been established. Today, she's going for another title, it's written all over her, it's another line in her record.
"That's a lot of confidence and it's impressive because Sabalenka has come a long way in terms of emotional management and even certain aspects of tennis. You can see that she's a girl who works very hard and has ambition.
"She's put the emphasis on concentrating on what's essential and the game she wants to develop, putting that pressure to one side and focusing on what she can master. I think that's a remarkable piece of work over the last two years, and she's been rewarded for it."
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'It was just a difference in class' - Expert reaction to Zheng losing to Sabalenka
For Robson, it was simply a case of Sabalenka's power being "just too much for Zheng" as she reflected on the match.
“She definitely did look nervous on the first couple of match points, but she did what she does best - went even bigger with her groundstrokes, even bigger with her serve. Just kept going after her shots, being brave and it got her the win," Robson said.
"Her power was just too much for Zheng. To deliver that kind of performance across the two weeks, getting better and better. I feel like the rest of the players in the locker room are thinking ‘uh oh’ for the rest of the season.”
“You see her now, and you can’t believe she’s the same player. She goes for it on the second serve, but she’s super confident in that shot so the turnaround mentally. Working on that [serve] gave her belief in the rest of her game.
"She is moving better than ever; she’s defending better than ever. Immense pressure on your groundstrokes as an opponent.”
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'A massive learning curve' - Experts react to Zheng losing to Sabalenka in final
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